You Wouldn't Believe the Coziness of This Elegant Two-Story House

Home building trends from 2008 to 2014 are showing a decrease in the square footage of residential family homes. Trulia reports that the average American home size has decreased every year since 2008. In the 1950's the average home size was less than 1,000 square feet. By the early 2000's homes were approaching 2,600 square feet.

Whether it was the economy combined with high heating and cooling bills, or the maintenance toll that larger houses were extracting, people began to choose and build smaller homes just before the recession. Good timing. Exceptions abound of course - wealthy buyers are still building mansions, but it is a small percentage of the market. Market share has actually grown for homes sized less than 1500 square feet.

What is most confusing in the data is the "small home" segment. Builders will give you different answers to the question, "How big (or small) is a 'Small Home?'" Consensus is that a "small home" is 1,500 square feet or less. You might say that this is not a small home at all. Then there is the term "Very Small Home." A very small home, if you research the phrase, turns out to be less than 1,000 square feet. Again, you might comment that 1,000 square feet is just fine.

Tiny houses are an option that more and more people around the world are considering, as a way to save money, live more affordably and lessen their carbon footprint. You'll want to take a look at "The Toulouse Pavilion Tiny House," a nice example in tiny house living.

This Pavilion style tiny house is called The Toulouse, it is designed to be used as a luxury garden building. You could also use the tiny house as a backyard pool house or guest quarters. For others this tiny house would be perfect for full time living, it has a 16 foot prefabricated log cabin with a dome shape. It also has an enclosed entryway. Inside there is lots of wood throughout making this tiny house very appealing. You'll want to take a look for yourself at this tiny house, and share with your friends.

The small house movement also known as the tiny house movement, is a famous description for the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. In the United States the average size of new single family homes grew from 1,780 square feet in 1978 to 2,479 square feet in 2007, and to 2,662 square feet in 2013, despite a decrease in the actual size of the average family. Reasons for this include increased material wealth and prestige. The tiny house movement is a return to houses of less than 1,000 square feet. Frequently the distinction is made between small between 400 square feet and 1,000 square feet, and tiny houses that are less than 400 square feet, with some houses as small as 80 square feet. Downsizing to a tiny house is a great way to do away with large mortgages, hydro bills and all the stuff that goes into a large house, and a way to live a more sustainable lifestyle.